Jobless rate holds steady at 4.5 percent

July 07, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - Employers added 132,000 jobs, paychecks grew solidly and the unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.5 percent in June, fresh evidence that the once listless economy is regaining energy. The new snapshot of conditions across the country, released by the Labor Department on Friday, showed that companies have a respectable - albeit not ravenous - appetite to hire and that there are opportunities for job seekers. For the national economy, the modest pace of hiring is consistent with business activity that is picking up speed and suggests consumers will have the financial wherewithal to withstand the sting of high gasoline prices. All that bodes well for the country's economic health. The tally of 132,000 new jobs was lower than the robust 190,000 for May. New hiring in education, health care, food services and government helped drive overall job growth. Construction companies also expanded employment. Those gains swamped job cuts in manufacturing, retailing, real estate, legal services, banking and elsewhere.